On 11 May, 22:18, WT-Gaze...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> TORONTO (CP) - A Jehovah's Witness who ***ually abused his
> daughter
> was sentenced Monday to two years less a day to be served in the
> community in a case that cast a spotlight on how the church
> handles
> ***-abuse complaints within its ranks.
>
> The victim, Vicki Boer, said the sentencing of her father
> validates
> her allegations and should force the church to face up to its
> shortcomings in handling her abuse complaint. "For the first
> time,
> somebody believed me," Boer said of the judge.
>
> "It makes (the elders) accountable. They've never had to be
> accountable," she said in an interview from Fredericton.
>
> In June, Gower Palmer pleaded guilty to one count of ***ual
> assault in
> Ontario Superior Court in Orangeville, Ont., about 100 kilometres
> northwest of Toronto.
>
> However, the court found he had abused his daughter on at least
> five
> separate occasions, prosecutor Eric Taylor said Monday.
>
> YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW must be Carol
>
> Taylor said he wanted Justice Emile Kruzick to impose a prison
> term on
> Palmer in the three-year range.
>
> However, in imposing a lower penalty, Kruzick said Palmer had
> already
> been punished by going through a lengthy civil suit. He will
> also be
> put on a ***-offender registry and will have to go through
> counselling.
>
> While identifying ***ual-abuse victims is normally prohibited,
> Boer
> wanted the public to know her name.
>
> "This is a battle that I'm fighting for not even just myself but
> for
> other kids," she said.
>
> Now a married mother of three pre-teen daughters, Boer said she
> hoped
> her criminal and civil battles would force changes to how
> Witnesses
> deal with ***ual abuse within their ranks.
>
> As part of their beliefs, Jehovah's Witnesses reject anything
> political or "worldly" that distracts from their focus on Christ
> and
> the second coming, which they consider imminent.
>
> Boer, 34, was ***ually assaulted by her father between ages 11
> and 14.
>
> Rather than notify authorities, she claimed in an earlier civil
> suit
> that church elders told her not to seek outside help or re****t
> the
> abuse.
>
> She also said they forced her to confront her dad to allow him to
> repent his sins as outlined in Matthew 18:15-18, a process she
> said
> was abusive and traumatic.
>
> In 1998, Boer sued the Jehovah's Witnesses through the Watch
> Tower
> Bible and Tract Society for $700,000, saying the abuse and how
> it was
> handled by the church almost drove her to suicide.
>
> In June 2003, Justice Anne Molloy ruled the church could not be
> held
> responsible for all her pain and suffering.
>
> Molloy found the church had not warned her against re****ting the
> abuse, and only that one elder had wrongly applied church policy
> by
> persuading her to confront her father.
>
> She did find the organization negligent in allowing untrained
> elders
> to hold the meeting and awarded Boer $5,000 in damages.
>
> "They don't follow the (written) policies," said Boer, who
> abandoned
> the faith in the early 1990s.
>
> Spokesman Mark Ruge disputed Boer's allegations the church tries
> to
> deal with abuse away from the prying eyes of outside authorities.
>
> "We abhor any ***ual misconduct or abuse, especially when
> children are
> involved," said Ruge from Georgetown, Ont.
>
> "We abide by the letter of the law as far as legal requirements
> are in
> re****ting to the appropriate child-welfare services."
>
> Following the civil trial, Boer overcame a reluctance to press
> charges
> against her own father (like Revis) saying she wanted him held
> personally
> accountable for his actions.
>
> Call one now for free bible study, bring your kiddies
>
> ~~
WTF can have the doings of a cult in Canada have to do with
soc.culture.puerto-rico?
Wombat
soc.culture.puerto-rico deleted
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